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Jan 8, 2014: REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

Jan 9, 2013: REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

Memo

BILL NUMBER:S1999

TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the tax law, in relation to providing certain school bus operators with a refund or credit of sales and compensating use taxes on the purchase of school buses and equipment and fuel used in the operation of a school bus

PURPOSE: To create an incentive for the private school bus operators to quickly phase-in the use of new clean-fuel school buses with near zero harmful emissions and ease the escalating financial burden on school bus operators and property tax payers attributed to various state and federal mandates, out-of-control insurance premiums and skyrocketing fuel prices.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: The bill amends section 1119 of the tax law by phasing in a refund or credit from state sales and use tax on the sale or use by a school bus operator of any school bus (used for the transportation of students to and from school or school related events) and of parts, equipment, lubricants, motor fuel, maintenance, servicing and repairs.

JUSTIFICATION: In recent years, school bus contractors have been hit with enormous increases in costs associated with new clean-fuel school bus regulations, rising insurance premiums, various state and federal mandates and skyrocketing fuel prices yet they have received very small increases in compensation for their long term contracts because the Consumer price Index, which those increases are based, has not risen at a rate commensurate with those costs. The financial pinch has forced many contractors to decide not to extend existing pupil transportation contracts. Those districts that have had to go out to RFP or bid in the last few years have found that their costs have gone up significantly. Exemption from sales tax would ease the financial strain on contractors, help them conform to new federal clean-fuel regulations, remain competitive and help them extend existing contracts.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: Needs to be determined. Effective Date: This act shall take effect on the first day of the quarterly sales tax period next commencing September 1, 2014.

Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1999
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
(PREFILED)
January 9, 2013
___________

Introduced by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
ment Operations
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to providing certain school bus
operators with a refund or credit of sales and compensating use taxes
on the purchase of school buses and equipment and fuel used in the
operation of a school bus
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 1119 of the tax law is amended by adding a new
subdivision (g) to read as follows:
(G) SUBJECT TO THE CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS PROVIDED IN THIS SUBDI-
VISION, A REFUND OR CREDIT SHALL BE ALLOWED FOR TAX PAID PURSUANT TO
SUBDIVISION (A) OF SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED FIVE, PARAGRAPH THREE OF
SUBDIVISION (C) OF SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED FIVE, OR SECTION ELEVEN
HUNDRED TEN OF THIS ARTICLE AND ANY TAX IMPOSED PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORI-
TY OF ARTICLE TWENTY-NINE OF THIS CHAPTER, ON THE SALE TO OR PURCHASE BY
A SCHOOL BUS OPERATOR OF (I) A SCHOOL BUS, AS DEFINED IN SECTION ONE
HUNDRED FORTY-TWO OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW, AT LEAST SEVENTY
PERCENT OF THE USE OF WHICH IS FOR THE TRANSPORTATION, BY SUCH OPERATOR,
OF SCHOOL STUDENTS TO OR FROM SCHOOL OR SCHOOL RELATED EVENTS, PURSUANT
TO A CONTRACT MADE UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE EDUCATION LAW, (II)
PARTS, EQUIPMENT AND LUBRICANTS WHEN SUCH PARTS, EQUIPMENT AND LUBRI-
CANTS ARE INSTALLED IN OR ON SUCH A SCHOOL BUS, AT LEAST SEVENTY PERCENT
OF THE USE OF WHICH IS FOR SUCH TRANSPORTATION, BY SUCH OPERATOR, PURSU-
ANT TO SUCH CONTRACT, (III) THE SERVICES DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH THREE OF
SUBDIVISION (C) OF SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED FIVE OF THIS ARTICLE WHEN
RENDERED WITH RESPECT TO SUCH A SCHOOL BUS SO USED OR WITH RESPECT TO
PARTS, EQUIPMENT AND LUBRICANTS INSTALLED IN OR ON SUCH A SCHOOL BUS SO
USED, AND (IV) MOTOR FUEL OR DIESEL MOTOR FUEL USED EXCLUSIVELY BY SUCH

EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03435-01-3

S. 1999 2

OPERATOR IN SUCH A SCHOOL BUS FOR SUCH TRANSPORTATION PURSUANT TO SUCH
CONTRACT. NO REFUND OR CREDIT SHALL BE ALLOWED UNDER THIS SUBDIVISION
UNLESS ALL OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCH REFUND OR CREDIT HAVE BEEN MET
FOR AT LEAST A TWELVE MONTH PERIOD AFTER THE SCHOOL BUS OPERATOR'S
PURCHASE OF SUCH SCHOOL BUS; HOWEVER, SUCH REFUND OR CREDIT SHALL BE
ALLOWED FOR A SCHOOL BUS THAT IS PAINTED "NATIONAL SCHOOL BUS CHROME"
PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION TWENTY-ONE OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE
OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW AND LABELED AS A "SCHOOL BUS" PURSUANT TO
SUBPARAGRAPH ONE OF PARAGRAPH (B) OF SUBDIVISION TWENTY OF SUCH SECTION
THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE IF ALL OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCH REFUND OR
CREDIT HAVE BEEN MET IN THE PREVIOUS QUARTERLY REPORTING PERIOD AS
DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION (B) OF SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED THIRTY-SIX OF
THIS ARTICLE. AN APPLICATION FOR A REFUND OR CREDIT PURSUANT TO THIS
SUBDIVISION MUST BE FILED WITH THE COMMISSIONER WITHIN THE TIME PROVIDED
BY SUBDIVISION (A) OF SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED THIRTY-NINE OF THIS ARTICLE
AND NO MORE FREQUENTLY THAN QUARTERLY. SUCH APPLICATION SHALL BE IN
SUCH FORM AS THE COMMISSIONER MAY PRESCRIBE. WHERE AN APPLICATION FOR
CREDIT HAS BEEN FILED, THE SCHOOL BUS OPERATOR MAY TAKE SUCH CREDIT ON
THE RETURN WHICH IS DUE COINCIDENT WITH OR IMMEDIATELY SUBSEQUENT TO THE
TIME THE SCHOOL BUS OPERATOR FILES SUCH APPLICATION FOR CREDIT. HOWEV-
ER, THE TAKING OF THE CREDIT ON THE RETURN SHALL BE DEEMED TO BE PART OF
THE APPLICATION FOR CREDIT AND SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS IN
RESPECT TO APPLICATIONS FOR CREDIT IN SUCH SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED THIR-
TY-NINE AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION (E) OF SUCH SECTION. THE ALLOWANCE
OF THE CREDIT OR REFUND SHALL ALSO BE SUBJECT TO THE SCHOOL BUS OPERATOR
MAINTAINING RECORDS SATISFACTORY TO THE COMMISSIONER DEMONSTRATING
COMPLIANCE WITH ALL THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SUBDIVISION. THE PERCENT-
AGE OF SUCH SCHOOL BUS USE MAY BE COMPUTED EITHER ON THE BASIS OF MILE-
AGE OR HOURS OF USE, AT THE DISCRETION OF THE PURCHASER OR USER. FOR THE
PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THE TERM "SCHOOL" SHALL MEAN A PRE-KINDER-
GARTEN OR KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM, A PRESCHOOL, NURSERY SCHOOL OR ELEMENTA-
RY, INTERMEDIATE OR SECONDARY SCHOOL. THE REFUND OR CREDIT SHALL BE
FIFTY PERCENT FOR THE PERIOD COMMENCING SEPTEMBER FIRST, TWO THOUSAND
FOURTEEN TO AUGUST THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN. THE REFUND OR
CREDIT SHALL BE ONE HUNDRED PERCENT COMMENCING SEPTEMBER FIRST, TWO
THOUSAND FIFTEEN.
S 2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the sales tax
quarterly period, as described in subdivision (b) of section 1136 of the
tax law, next commencing September 1, 2014 and shall apply in accordance
with the applicable transitional provisions in sections 1106 and 1217 of
the tax law; provided, further, that the commissioner of taxation and
finance shall be authorized on and after the date this act shall have
become a law to adopt and amend any rules or regulations and issue any
procedure, forms or instructions necessary to implement this act on its
effective date.

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